How changing a rug changed our lives (and tips on how to choose the perfect rug)

We have a philosophy – we never travel to hotel rooms less comfortable than our own home. That being said, we’re now on a mission to give our home the luxury hotel feel (which is a bit dangerous – we might never want to leave). In this article we’re looking at the importance of the rug in styling your living area, and how the right rug can make daily living so much easier (read on for our story). Rugs are increasingly making a statement in luxury and boutique hotels and have a huge impact on the feel of the room. In the UAE, most homes have tiled floors to give a cool feeling to the villa or apartment due to the warm climate, so rugs are a great way to add a luxurious feel and define room spaces.

Nobis Hotel Copenhagen uses a rug with a strong design statement to pop against the minimalist Scandic furniture.

Here’s a simple guide to choosing a rug for your living room that’s going to elevate it to super suite status:

Choose the right size rug for your furniture.
If your furniture backs on to a wall, then the rug you choose should fit comfortably under the front legs of all pieces of furniture (and the innermost legs for chaise pieces).
If your furniture ‘floats’ in the middle of the room, ensure the rug is large enough for all four legs of all pieces of furniture to fit comfortably on the rug, with some over allowance so the rug looks generous. Our example from the St. Regis Kuala Lumpur below shows a rug that’s just slightly too small for the space, needing to reach further under the sofa for the correct fit.

Pick your palette.
Choose a rug that incorporates an aspect of your colour scheme for a look and feel that’s easy on the eye. Tie at least one color in to your existing furniture, drapery, cushions or even art. If your sofa is patterned, choose a simple design – and vice versa.

Find a rug that fits your lifestyle.
If you have pets, a rug that has a loose weave allowing cat claws to pull threads or that has a texture that encourages pet fur to stick to it just won’t work (believe us, we know). Pets also love deep pile rugs and tend to want to have a dig in them – another no-no. Likewise, if your household has little ones roaming around, deep pile rugs will just encourage food crumbs and germs to accumulate – and they’re difficult to clean and vacuum too. Opt for a short pile rug with a small pattern to keep it looking good for longer – it’ll be easier to clean too.

How we solved our rug issues

Whilst we loved the famous design of IKEA’s iconic black and white striped Stockholm rug, it ended up not being right for our lifestyle after three cats adopted us (including one extremely fluffy white cat). The cats would damage it by scratching, stretching and playing, and the cat fur stuck to it so badly that we purchased a special Dyson stick vacuum just so we could vacuum it every day. It was a constant source of frustration and left the lounge looking continually messy. Inspired by this New York-chic rug we saw at the St. Regis Kuala Lumpur, we went on the hunt for a replacement.

We love the styling in St. Regis Kuala Lumpur’s St. Regis Suite

We headed to Carpet Centre as they furnish many of Dubai’s most stylish five-star hotels including One & Only, The St. Regis and The Ritz Carlton as well as designer apartment and villa builds – it’s the only place in Dubai we can find the style of rugs we love. What’s more, they also have the large sizes we needed (our sofa borders on monstrous and needs an oversized rug to be correctly sized as per the guidelines above). We couldn’t quite decide in-store, but thankfully they offer a service that revolutionizes rug buying. They’ll bring three of your favorite rugs to your home and set them up in situ so you can see exactly what your new rug is going to look like before you decide. Once they were in place in our home, the choice was easy.

We opted for a gorgeous grey and beige toned design that matched our decor perfectly and had the same feel as the look we were going for from St. Regis Kuala Lumpur. We are literally obsessed with the transformation the new rug has brought to our villa, but what’s made us even happier is that the rug is pet-proof! No more frequent vacuuming – the cat hair simply does not stick to the short pile of the rug, the cats can’t get their claws into it and it doesn’t show dirt and dust. Who would have thought simply changing a rug could make such a difference to daily frustrations? Head to their website to check out their huge range – even better, the prices are so reasonable for the quality and style. The dream!

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